


Rogue IV

by paox



Category: One Piece
Genre: AU, Brothers, Gen, but also kids fighting the world, fluffy sappy stuff, its, its complicated, op, they're four brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paox/pseuds/paox
Summary: Family isn't always decided by blood - Ace's certainly isn't. After all; he's the son of a devil, and even if he is worthless, he's far from alone. The sons of two of the world's most wanted criminals and a young, outcast World Noble are his only friends in the world, but he calls them his brothers and that's enough.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I messed around with canon a lot, fair warning, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless!

Sabo was born into a life that should have been everything he needed and everything he ever would. He should have grown up with the same blissful ignorance that his father had, and his father's father had, and his father before that had and so on. He should have been born into paradise, more powerful than angels. A God.

Many things _should_ have happened in his childhood, but things never really quite meant to plan when it came to Jalmack Sabo.

Sabo's earliest memory, startling in its clarity after all these years, is of sour-smelling hands forcing some kind of metal dome over his head. It's suffocating. He can't breathe. _He can't breathe._ The oxygen flow begins a full – agonising - ten seconds later, and Sabo's eyes burn and stream. The person with the clammy, bad-smelling hands shakes Sabo, their voice distant as they berate him. That's also Sabo's first memory of his mother.

The next memory that Sabo has of his childhood that's as clear as that one is from when he was around five, and it had only just occurred to him that the distorted and muffled sounds, high in pitch, from the room with the heavy lock that he's not allowed near might just be _screams_. He's sitting with his back ramrod-straight under the eye of half a dozen security den-den mushis, that same suffocating glass globe around his head, and it hits him like a bullet.

The quiet maid with the laugh that sounds a little like music and a smile like a softer version of the sun. The chains around her ankles, the thin, white scars that curve over her shoulders. She's a slave. All of the people who tend to his every need, cater to his every whim. Slaves. His young mind can barely comprehend that all of these people with washed-out smiles and dull eyes are the same people that scream out in the locked room.

When he asks his father about it, managing to get his attention for a meagre minute, the man gives an unconcerned, nasal-sounding laugh. He doesn't seem to care that people are actually in pain, real pain, in the basement room of his own house. Sabo barely knows what pain feels like but he knows that he doesn't like it and that it feels really bad. Surely, his father can help them? After all, Saint Jalmack can fix anything.

He just doesn't seem all that motivated to.

After that, as he grows, Sabo's memories become clearer. He realises that his home rests on the top of a tower of leaning, straining cards. He sneaks into his father's room one night, just manages to evade the guards, and finds as more corruption than he'd even thought could exist. One day, on a whim, he tries to crawl out of his window. He smashes his oxygen tank. He's nearly found something that he's only read in books – nearly found _freedom_.

But the guards notice him, of course they do. Sabo's mother slaps him hard with one gloved hand, and his head snaps to the side as her hand comes back and backhands his face in the other direction. Her face has become something ugly and full of rage.

Sabo shivers to this day when he thinks about what his _father_ did.

By the time Sabo is eight or nine, he's growing from an infant into a boy. He never gave up. His rebellious acts continued, even as punishments got worse, and by his ninth birthday he's managed to free two slaves. Of course, it's not much. It's never much, and it's never enough, but it's a small victory to Sabo. Soon, Sabo's parents start treating him more like a wayward slave than a pampered son.

He's ten when they brand him, and that's when he breaks down for the first time. It's after another escape attempt (they're so frequent now that Sabo loses count of them), and his memories are scrambled from the moment that he's hauled back inside. Sabo thinks that maybe his brain did this to protect him.

There's pain, he knows that. A lot of pain, all the way across his back, and fire dancing in front of his eyes. Somebody's screaming; it sounds like a young child, or one of the wives. Sabo realises dully that it's him.

When he wakes, he's roughly bandaged, lying on the floor of his room. It's then that Sabo has his first panic attack, clutching his head and biting his lip so hard that it bleeds as hot tears squeeze out of his eyes. His back burns and when the tears finally slow, leaving the child feeling horribly empty, he peels back the bandages gingerly and stares at his back in the mirror.

The Hoof of the Flying Dragon. A brand left on every official slave of the Celestial Dragons.

Sabo's a slave, and now he knows that he has to leave before he ends up bound by this mark forever.

* * *

"Damnitt, _Luffy_! Get back here, it isn't safe!"

The rubber boy laughs gleefully, but still allows ones of his big brothers to pull him back into the shadows by his shirt collar. When the other young fugitive shoots him a stern look, crossing his arms, Luffy pouts – he's already lost this argument.

"What? I just wanted to explore. Look at the cool trees!" Luffy points up to the sky, where the canopy that covers Sabaody Archipelago is just visible. "And there are these awesome looking bubbles, and-"

"Oi! Guys!" Another voice rings from the opposite side of the alley, and soon the speaker is bounding alongside his brothers. Ace is slightly flushed, black hair overgrown and shaggy, but Luffy notes happily that he's grinning. "Troop of marines coming," he says shortly, "I think they updated our bounties again."

While Luffy cheers, their other companion groans and sinks deeper into the shadows. Ace shoots him a teasing look. "C'mon, little bro, you must've expected this. And having high bounties just means that we're more well-known!" Ace's wide grin is almost feral in its excitement.

"Don't call me that."

"Yeah, 'Ro, this is awesome!" Luffy throws his small arms into the air in celebration. The ten-year old is all smiles today, apparently. After a second, though, his face folds into a frown. "We haven't done much, though. It's like the only reason we've got our bounties is-"

"Out of the way!" Before Luffy can finish his sentence, Ace pulls him into the darkness of the alley. A troop of marines storm past.

"They're around here, men!" the man who looks like the captain yells, "The sons of Dragon, Gold Roger and Mihawk!"

Ace rolls his eyes at how they address him and his adoptive brother simply by their father's names. "I still don't get why they're hunting _you_ so much, Mossball. Wasn't your dad a Warlord?"

The son of the greatest swordsman gives a long-suffering sigh, as if he's had to explain this enough times already. "He was until I was born. Then something happened – don't ask me, I don't know what - and he decided to go rogue again. A while after, he attacked a Word Noble, killed some admiral. Now he's up there with your dad on the most wanted list, Luffy."

"Oh yeah!" Luffy giggles up at the twelve-year old. "Hey, Zoro, Ace, after this can we get food? Meat! Meat meat meat!"

As Zoro sighs and says, "Sure," Ace smacks Luffy lightly across the back of the head and says, "Not the time!" Their adoptive younger brother just laughs.

Suddenly, the shouting outside of their alley rises. Gunshots scream through the air. Some poor sod must have been mistaken as one of them. A lance of anger shoots through Zoro, and he meets Ace's eyes, the two older brothers exchanging silent words. _How did this all go so wrong?_

A flurry of memories hit the green-haired boy, and he tightens his grip on Luffy's arm.

…

_Zoro is young – how young, he can't recall – and strong arms paired with a familiar smell leave him in the cold. His father's voice fades into the wind surrounding Grey Terminal and, in the night, somebody steals Zoro's thin blanket and the few coins in his pocket. He's four at most. He's alone. He's impossibly scared._

_Zoro's five, and he meets Ace. The older boy is cold and menacing, something dark deep inside him, but he's strong and he can fight so Zoro sticks with him. Every night is a battle against the harsh cold and every day is filled with disease and growing hunger and the ash and dust of the Terminal, but Zoro's getting by. One of his only comforts is that someday, he'll be able to punch his dad, hard. Or stab him. Hell, just yelling at him would be satisfying at the moment._

_The new kid is seven, and he's finally managed to chase Ace all the way to Grey Terminal. Zoro's only eight, and he doesn't have his brothers yet, and something ugly is still alive inside him. He's had less friends then he can count on one hand in his life – only Kuina, who was a rival who only stayed at Grey Terminal for a few months, and Ace, who's engaged in more of a business arrangement with him than anything. He waits for the day when he can get out of this godforsaken place._

_Luffy is still seven and it's the day after Zoro's ninth birthday. Things have changed, even if it's only been a few months since he met Luffy – abruptly, everything seems brighter. The beast in Zoro's belly is calmer, close to dormant, and Ace is pulling out a bottle of sake and three cups with a bright grin on his face that Zoro'd never thought he was capable of. And Zoro has brothers. He's suddenly so much less alone, and he relishes in it._

_It's midwinter, the day before Christmas, and the marines have found them. A part of Zoro always knew that they'd be coming for him eventually – but he's shocked to find that he's not the only one with a condemning father. Luffy's dad, not that the kid seems to care, is the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and Ace's is the most wanted of them all – Gold Roger, late pirate king. It's a dramatic twist of fate that they even met, let alone became sworn brothers._

_Ace turns eleven today. As the brothers steal away from Dawn Island in a tiny raft, watching their home as smoke colours the sky, Zoro's eyes burn at the injustice of it all. As he silently lets Luffy cling to him, rubbing salve over the harsh burns on Ace's back, he can't help but wish that, even if things stayed the same for him, Ace and Luffy didn't have to pay in pain for their fathers' crimes._ He's _not a good person, but_ they _certainly don't deserve this._

_Luffy's turning eight, and they're hopping ships from island to island. The first half of the Grand Line is cruel and the pirates ruthless, but Zoro trains hard every night and Ace works to control his new devil fruit every day. Luffy still can't throw a punch to save his life but he's got a half-decent pipe and once, when things get hairy with a few bounty hunters and Ace is close to being taken, a strange force comes out of their youngest and suddenly they're surrounded by unconscious bodies. Who knows? Maybe the kid can be useful, after all._

_Zoro's tenth rolls around, and they celebrate his birthday and their anniversary of becoming brothers in a filthy alleyway on some shady island. Ace is hurt (_ as always, the reckless moron _, Zoro thinks fondly) and they spend the night huddled together under the stars, Luffy attached to the fire-user's hip. Ace has changed a lot, Zoro realises. He's close to what some could even call doting when it comes to Luffy._

_They sprint across a slave ship, broken chains slipping from their ankles and wrists, and dive into the ocean - it takes all of Zoro's strength to keep his brothers' heads above the water and get them to an island. He swims for hours, legs burning, but he doesn't give up. His brothers are D's. He's the son of Mihawk. He doesn't give in this easily._

_It's near dawn and they finally reach sweet, sweet land. Zoro hauls the two dark-haired boys onto the rough sand, collapsing as his small limbs shake. Shells and shards of glass scrape their legs as the sun starts to rise, and Luffy grins impossibly widely and presses their bloody knees together. "We're blood brothers!" he beams, and Zoro pretends his doesn't notice the suspicious brightness in Ace's grey eyes. His own grey eyes, identical to his older brother's even if they aren't related, blur slightly too in the morning light._

_Things speed up. Luffy is nine, and a marine commodore is sinking something hot and sharp between Zoro's shoulder blades. Zoro is eleven and Ace is, for the first time, allowing himself to break down; and Zoro is there, silent, hands on his shoulders and forehead against his as Luffy sleeps on. Ace is thirteen and Luffy's punch is finally starting to go straight. Zoro is twelve and his brothers forget his birthday, but not a single part of him blames them. Days flow together, as do Zoro's memories of home, but every night he has Ace's warmth and Luffy's presence and they have his and that's enough._

_It's near Ace's fourteenth, and they arrive in Sabaody. They stick to rooftops and alleys, and shadows in the groves where nobody will see them, and Zoro can't help but notice that a new wanted poster has popped up for a boy of around their age. It's night time, and they huddle in an alcove. Zoro pulls out a copy that he hid in his small pack and inspects it. 'Sabo' the name simply reads, '20,000,000, only alive'. The blond in the picture is scowling, blue eyes flashing, and something about him reminds Zoro distinctly of Ace, somehow._

_It's the morning, and they've been spotted._

…

"Shit!" Ace's voice pulls Zoro out of his own mind and he's yanked out into the startling sunlight, light flooding into his eyes. A flood of marines pound up the alley behind them, and Zoro barely has time to secure his swords at his side before he's running, feet pounding on the grass. Luffy's in his familiar place between his older brothers, still grinning his roughish grin, and Ace is cursing up a storm.

"Hey, Ace, look!" Luffy reaches out further than any normal human should have the capability to do and snags a bounty poster off a nearby wall. "Your new bounty is…" Going red slightly with frustration even as he carries on running, Luffy offers the poster to Zoro, struggling to read it. The kid never did learn properly.

"Sixty mil'. Not bad," Zoro smirks, as Ace gives a laugh of victory before reaching out to pull Luffy along with them – the rubber boy is falling behind again. Behind them, the marines seem almost offended that their targets are celebrating and laughing as they run for their lives, and they speed up, battle cries growing louder.

Suddenly, another troop rushes out in front of them. The trio stop in their tracks. Zoro growls, slipping easily into place at Luffy's back as Ace takes a step in front of his two younger brothers.

The two approaching troops thunder towards them from either side and Ace's eyes dart as he pulls himself further in front of Luffy. Zoro's slightly shaggy green hair, in need of a good cut, hangs into his eyes, and he unsheathes his two swords. He'd prefer to use three if he wanted to really fight comfortably, but he has to make due with only two for now – his third was destroyed a few weeks ago, to his despair. At least Wado is still okay.

Luffy laughs in a manner that, to somebody who knows him, is distinctly threatening. Sinking into a comfortable stance to mirror Ace's, his near-black eyes are shadowed by his straw hat, and his grin is wide and wild. He's about as intimidating as a ten year old can be.

Ace's fist roars into flames, and then the fight starts.

After everything – Goa Kingdom, the first few weeks in the East Blue, Paradise – the trio fight like a finely oiled machine. Luffy swipes a long arm through the crowd, stretching and stretching and smashing into them like bowling pins; and as two marines go in for Luffy and Ace respectively, Zoro's there, sweeping their swords out of their hands with his own and sending the men crashing to the floor as he slams his leg into theirs in a roundhouse kick. Ace turns the world into a raging fire, and as Zoro sends a low slash at the legs of a few oncoming marines, the older is lunging over his head and sending a wave of fire at those targeting the swordsman's back.

Luffy aims another strong blow at the hoard and as he ricochets his arm around, Zoro ducks and Ace jumps in unison. Zoro senses the blade coming before it hits and he spins to clash his own against it, just as his older brother sprints past him to torch the captain who's flying at Luffy. The kid's still smiling, even as blood pours out of a wound on his temple, and he and Ace fight back-to-back for a minute or so before their oldest yells, "Time to wrap it up!"

Zoro wonders what's up as he hurries to finish his fight and push through the hoard to his brothers, before the sound of more marines storming through the nearby streets hits his ears too. Luffy gives one more still-wonky punch (really, the youngest is currently more brute strength and adrenaline than skill, but he's getting there) before darting over to Zoro with a grin and scrambling onto his shoulders.

"Oi, Luffy! What the he-"

The rest of Zoro's words are cut off as Luffy laughs mischievously and ticks out his tongue, tapping one heel on Zoro's chest. "You keep going on about getting stronger, ne? So carry me." He sticks out his mouth into a comical pout, whistling loudly. "It's not like I hurt my foot in the fight."

Zoro snorts derisively at the black-haired boy's inability to lie, reaching up to smack Luffy lightly on the arm before he secures his hands around the small boy's ankles. He notes the blood that soaks the left one and holds it lightly, subtly applying pressure. Luffy doesn't need any more scars – he has so many already, regardless of how hard it is to scar a rubber boy.

Ace ducks around them, holding off the few marines that are still up and kicking, and shoots Luffy a look of poorly-masked concern before yelling, "Let's move!"

* * *

Sabo's thirteen, nearly fourteen now, and life in the real world as a fugitive is far, far from what he expected.

No. It's ten times better.

He hasn't worn his stuffy oxygen globe in over three years. His space suit-like clothing, made to look rich and sophisticated and utterly failing in that aspect (not that anybody would tell the Celestial Dragons that), is gone – he wears a ratty old top hat and a blue tailcoat now, complete with shorts, boots and a torn t-shirt. For the first year or so, his immune system was impossibly weak from how little dirt he'd come into contact with as a kid, but now things are far better; or, at least, Sabo isn't keeling over from various illnesses every five seconds.

Life has never been better for Sabo. Sure, his brand still burns at the memory of his parents and he's still far from being free from their searching, but he's _free_. He wants to grow to become a revolutionary. He wants to sail the world. He goes to sleep every night with aching limbs and an aching stomach but he's more alive now than he's ever been – and he relishes the feeling of the wind through his hair and burning in his eyes and warmth on his skin. Someday he'll go back to his parents – go back and free the slaves that they keep in that locked room – but for now, he runs.

Grinning, he tucks himself further into the shade of the rooftop as another hoard rumbles past bellow. Apparently he is not the only fugitive in the Archipelago today. He's most certainly not the most wanted. As the sound of a fight breaks out a few streets over, the teen cocks his head slightly – soon, curiosity gets the better of him, and he slips down a drainpipe to the slightly grimy pavement.

Nobody gives him a second glance as he makes his way surreptitiously across the street, soon re-entering the reassuring confinement of the shade. It's probably because he's only had a bounty for a few months; that, or the price on his head and the occasional mentions of his name in the papers aren't anything that could draw people's attention.

Sabo jogs down the alleyway and as he emerges from the other side, his eyes lock on to the commotion a short way down the street. A hoard of white-uniformed marines, two or three troops at the least by the looks of them, are converging on a handful of small figures. More marines lie on the ground unconscious, and as still more topple like bowling pins, Sabo catches a few glimpses of the opposing figures.

The former noble can see two of them clearly, a kid with a straw hat and a young teen with a shock of green hair. The other, standing out from the marines in his orange shirt and with his scruffy, black hair, is at Straw Hat's back, and- _is that fire that's pouring from his punches_?! He squints even harder – his eyesight has never been much to be desired, and now that a kid who looks no older than himself is fighting with literal tongues of fire, he's fascinated. Green Hair ducks and weaves around Straw Hat, and it's obvious that they've been fighting together for a very long time to be able to predict the other's moves so well.

Sabo hisses between his teeth as a marine's wayward sword slashes down into Straw Hat's foot, damn near cleaving it in half. To his credit, the kid doesn't cry out; on the contrary, he bites his lip and smacks the offending officer into a wall, sending up a plume of dust. He carries on fighting as if getting your foot nearly cleaved off is an everyday occurrence (maybe for him, it is), and his two companions don't notice his small falter.

Suddenly, the fire-wielding one yells something Sabo can't make out, and they all abruptly pick up their pace. Sabo realises with a jolt that he's been so caught up in watching the fight that he's unconsciously stumbled into the light of the sun, and he steps back quickly, falling out of sight once again. He watches as the smallest of the trio, Straw Hat, climbs Green Hair and sits comfortably on his shoulders, laughing as his friend grumbles.

And then the trio are trooping towards Sabo, the fire-user protecting the other two as they race down the street and are assaulted on all sides. They turn a corner, Sabo jogging and then sprinting to keep up with the ragtag trio, and when he slips closer to run alongside them, it takes them a second to notice him.

When they do, the black-haired arsonist is the first to react. "Who the hell are you?!" he asks crudely, but he makes no move to attack. His grey eyes flash with something dangerous.

Sabo goes to reply, but Green Hair beats him to it. "He's some wanted kid, twenty million. Name's Sabo." His voice is surprisingly gruff for his age because, up close, Sabo can tell that he must barely be over twelve or so - if that. "I doubt a fugitive would attack fellow criminals." The last part is said to Ace, but Sabo can tell that it's something between a question and a threat, and it's partially aimed at him, too.

"You're right there." The blond tries to keep his tone as light as he can. "I know a good place to hide out. C'mon!"

He veers down a sidestreet and can't hide his mild surprise when the three actually follow him. Slowly, as they gain speed and Sabo leads them off in a confusing trail through the alleyways in hopes of losing their pursuers, the yells of the marines fade behind them. Still, Sabo carries on running, and none of his new companions complain.

Finally, when he deems them far enough away, Sabo yanks Green and the fire-user into a small alcove – an abandoned corner shop, with the entrance door at the bottom of a handful of stairs, shady and hidden. Sabo tries the door, and thanks every entity he can think of when the lock gives after a few hard twists. They pile inside, Sabo entering last and shutting the door behind him, and the trio land in a pile as they gasp for breath.

Sabo has the sense to wait until he's caught his breath back and then push himself up off the table he's slumped against, glancing around. The shop has evidently been in disrepair for years now, and dust hangs on the air like a ghost. Snatches of sunlight stretch through a few high windows, lighting up trails of musty air. The various tables dotted around are covered with broken and abandoned knickknacks. Unlit lanterns hover low over their heads.

"Whoah…" Straw Hat stands up, completely disregarding his injured foot, and Sabo swears he can see honest-to-Oda stars in his eyes. "Shishishishi! Ace, Zoro, look! _Sugeee_!" His laugh and his smile are infectious, and Sabo suddenly realises that he's smiling too.

The other black-haired one, either 'Ace' or 'Zoro' apparently, growls and tugs Straw Hat back down. "Damnitt, Lu, you got yourself hurt. _Again_. How many times do we have to have this talk?!"

'Lu' pouts. "Sorry, Ace." He looks oddly cowed.

As if just remembering that he's there, the three kids all direct their stares to Sabo. "Erm, hi," the former World Noble says awkwardly.

"'Hi'?" The man Sabo now knows is Ace looks unimpressed, but it shocks the blond when Green Hair – Zoro – smacks the man lightly on the shoulder. They meet eyes for a second, grey to distinctive grey, before Ace sighs. Gritting his teeth, he forces himself to bow, and his companions follow silently.

"Thank you for helping us!" the young arsonist says stiffly, echoed a second later by Zoro and 'Lu'.

Sabo fights to keep from flushing. "It's fine!" He twitches, unpleasant memories threatening to surface. "Look – please don't bow…!" the thirteen-year old says quickly. All three look up in unison, confused, but they stop bowing after a second – much to Sabo's relief.

"Touchy," Ace mutters.

Ignoring the comment, Sabo steps forwards. His booted feet kick up dust, toes covered in the stuff, and warmth still spreads inside him at the sight of something that natural, that _real_ , on him. He stretches out one hand to Zoro.

"I'm Sabo," he greets them, smiling as welcomingly as he can. He and the green-haired boy meet eyes.

"I know," Zoro replies, taking his hand.

* * *

When Sabo patches up Luffy – _little does he know that this is the first of many times in which he'll have to do it_ – he earns himself a short, bone-crushing hug from the kid and a smile that looks sort of like it could make flowers grow. Luffy, Ace and Zoro, Sabo learns, are three brothers that left their home town in the East Blue just under three years ago. They seem reluctant to tell him much about why exactly they left (in fact, they're reluctant to tell him anything at all), and he's not sure he even wants to know. They all have shadows in their eyes.

But that night, the four search the rickety old store for blankets and lamps and anything to keep out the chill, and then huddle together in a cocoon of their meagre blankets. Ace doesn't exactly seem keen on getting all that close and cuddly with a stranger, but he does it anyway, because damn if it isn't freezing. As the four boys lie close together for warmth, Luffy blabs away about seemingly meaningless babble; but Sabo learns a lot.

Ace's father's some kind of king, and Zoro's left him when he was small. Their home island was apparently destroyed (the utterly heartbroken look on Luffy's face as he says this looks so _goddamn_ out of place and Sabo barely knows him) by an admiral. They exchanged Sake cups to become brothers. Ace ate a devil fruit. Luffy's made of rubber. Zoro is Zoro. Luffy likes meat.

It's not substantial information, but it's enough to send Sabo's mind whirling long after Luffy falls asleep on his shoulder ( _god, he's so_ _ **trusting**_ ) and Ace and Zoro's breathing evens out. Is there a chance, even just one chance, that the three brothers will accept him if they find out who he is?

No. Sabo knows this immediately.

Kneading his forehead, Sabo rolls over and stares at the dark wall. They'll probably leave tomorrow, anyway, so he's worrying for nothing.

Either way, sleep doesn't come easily for Sabo that night. His dreams are a blur of dragons and softly-laughing maids and scars and screams and fire.

* * *

A few days later, Sabo's surprised to find that his new companions haven't moved on yet. Every day, they venture out carefully – or, at least, Ace and Zoro do. Luffy's foot is showing worrying signs of infection, and he spends most of his time situated on Ace or Zoro, occasionally hopping over to Sabo. He honestly can't bring himself to feel too annoyed about it; even Ace and Sabo seem to be warming up to him slightly. _Small victories_.

Ace, Sabo, Zoro and Luffy decide to set up camp in the abandoned store (Sabo finds an old sign that reads 'Williamson's', so Luffy quickly dubs the place 'Amson', which soon gets distorted into 'Amazon'. The name, strangely, sticks). The four boys spend the first few days rifling through the place, tearing up sheets and opening windows to let more light in. Above the shop itself is a small apartment complex, everything still covered in dust, and there they find more blankets and clothes.

Sabo learns still more about the trio. Ace's bounty recently hit sixty million, something the former World Noble marvels at, while Luffy's rose to thirty million and Zoro's stayed firmly at forty-two million. They're used to criminality, Sabo can tell, and while Zoro seems relatively unfazed by the rise in bounty, Ace and Luffy see it as a cause for celebration.

As they grow more comfortable around him, the trio of outlaws ask plenty of questions about Sabo, too. He tells them plainly that he's an orphan and, on the second night when Ace catches sight of Sabo's brand, he shoots him a silver gaze filled with something between shock and sympathy. That night, Sabo knows that Ace must've told his brothers something because Luffy clings to him a little tighter and Zoro offers him his share of the bread Ace stole for them.

Time speeds up. Amazon becomes less like a temporary recuperation place and more like a home, surprisingly enough. After explaining the situation quickly to Sabo, the three younger of the youths wake their oldest on January the first with a few slices of Luffy's homemade cake (Ace might have to pass on actually _eating_ the stuff, but he appreciates the gesture all the same) and some fried fish swiped from a street vendor a few blocks away. Ace has never thought that his birth was all that celebration-worthy – his existence isn't exactly a good thing – but he finds himself feeling pretty damn content when the trio settle down on the roof that night, lying back to look at the sky.

Stars peak through the gaps in the leaves, and Luffy suddenly props himself up and stares at Sabo, hard. Squirming slightly under the heavy stare, Sabo raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, Luffy?"

"Ne, Sabo, be our brother!"

Sabo chokes on air. Ace stares and _stares_ at Luffy, utterly incredulous. Even Zoro looks like he's about to fall off the roof.

" _Ba_ ka!" Ace's hand comes up to whap Luffy across the back of the head.

"What?!" The rubber boy clutches his head. "He could be, though! Sabo's nice!"

"You don't just go around asking random kids to be our brothers! Does our brothership mean that little to you?!"

At Ace's outraged tone, a hope that Sabo hadn't noticed was growing within him shrivels and dies. Of course they don't want him. He was stupid to even begin to think that they would. He's the son of a Celestial Dragon, born to the scum that hate the three brothers, even if they don't know it yet. He was a fool to begin to hope for anything close to friendship.

"Well…" At Zoro's contemplative tone, Sabo looks up in surprise. "Ace, it's not like he's been anything but good to us. I get that our being brothers means a lot to you – it means a hell of a lot to me and Luffy, too – but do you really want to throw away the chance of having another one of us? Four pairs of eyes are better than three, after all."

"But… But…!" Ace's face grows steadily redder, and something dark crosses his expression. After a second, he sighs. "Look…Sabo. I ain't got anything against you. You've helped us a lot. _Arigatō_. But do you seriously want to sign yourself up for a life of running, just 'cause you're with the sons of three of the most wanted criminals in history?"

Sabo stares at Ace, hard, and the silence stretches uncomfortably before the blond sighs and plops back down onto the concrete. He closes his eyes, and then _talks_.

He tells the three brothers about growing up as the oldest son of a family of Celestial Dragons, of World Nobles. He tells them about slaves, and suffocating glass globes, and at some point they all shift closer. His voice shakes, but he doesn't stop. He tells them of a childhood spent overseeing tiny, seemingly meaningless acts of rebellion, of trying desperately to help those trapped under his family's thumb, of his father's wrath that still makes him shake to the core to this day.

He tells them about the brand, and shaking on the floor of his bedroom and sobbing over the lifeless body of the kind maid who'd shown him more care than his parents ever would. He speaks of smashing his oxygen purification globe and glass falling into his eyes, of sprinting through the dark and running and running and running until he aches all over and struggles to draw breath. His voice trembles as he talks of learning freedom and living just ahead of the law, and of panic attacks and nightmares and terror like none he's ever felt before.

"Don't you see?" Sabo's voice is still small, but grows in volume as he goes on. "I've spent three years running from admirals and Celestial Dragons. And I'm not exactly proud of my parentage, either. But if you want to let me be your brother – and I'm not asking you to, because that's not my choice – then I'll do all I can to carry on surviving."

As if suddenly realising just how much he's said, Sabo bows his head. He's ready for the rejection that's bound to come. "I'm sorry for going on and on. I get it if you don't-"

The blond, head low, is cut off by Ace. "We do." Jalmack Sabo raises his head in shock, meeting the youth's eyes, and the fourteen-year old grins. "Welcome to the family, Sabo."

( _Sabo can't help the tears that well up in his eyes like that, and Ace laughs as Luffy wraps him in his arms multiple times and Zoro smirks fondly.)_

* * *

Three days later, when Ace manages to steal some, the four share cups of Sake. This ritual seems sentimental to Zoro, Ace and Luffy, and when Sabo asks why, it's their turn to talk. All vestiges of mistrust gone, the three kids from Goa talk in turns of growing up as the sons of monsters, and of Sake cups and dreams and living by the sea. Akainu is the only admiral who Sabo's never seen with his own eyes, and he's glad that he hasn't encountered the man by Zoro's lowly-spoken description of the man and his power. It's clear that all three hate him with everything they have.

It's a welcome break from the sombre atmosphere when Sabo learns who Luffy's father is. He nearly falls out of his chair, and then he's back up again, telling Luffy eagerly about how he hopes that he can find the revolutionary army someday and go back to Mariejois, free the slaves he grew up with. Luffy screams his own dream back without prompting; (' _I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!_ ' he screeches, and now Sabo's ears are ringing).

Maybe that's the best part of freedom, Sabo muses. Dreams don't seem so impossible.

Loud grunts and the sounds of harsh blows fall from the room, ringing down the corridor. The apartment complex itself is abandoned (bar the four occupants in the main room). If anybody were to look in, they would be greeted with the sight of Luffy and Ace sitting on the floor, the former gnawing on a slice of meat, as they watch their two sparring brothers in the centre of the room. They have an air about them as they observe that suggests that they've seen this fight many times before.

Sabo lunges in, swipes his pipe, but Zoro blocks it with one sword and then sweeps his other forward. Sabo dances out of the way, and in a second he's shooting in towards Zoro's unguarded side – _damn, too slow_ , Zoro forces him off with a hidden grin under his bandana. Dodging another lightning-fast swipe from his adoptive brother, Sabo flips backwards and lands in a crouch; suddenly he's rolling to the side, Wado slicing through the air centimetres from his cheek

"Nice acrobatics," Zoro jibes, though he's breathing heavily.

"Getting tired?" Sabo retorts, and then he's up again and Zoro's abruptly on the defensive.

As they continue to exchange blows, Sabo slowly starting to take the lead, Ace turns to Luffy on the side. "I'm still betting on Zoro. You know I don't go back on my bets." Either way, he still sounds resigned.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughs. He raises his voice. "SABO! WIN, OKAY?!"

"Gotcha, Luffy," Sabo laughs, before yelping as two swords cross in an arch towards his neck and scrambling out of the way. He curses inwardly. That one second of distraction could have cost him the whole fight.

Ultimately, Sabo wins. Pipe held an inch over Zoro's eyes, he stands still over him for a second before grinning and offering a hand to help his friend up. Zoro considers declining it (he has honor, after all), but then takes it on a whim and lets the blond pull him to his feet, fighting back a grin himself.

"Damn _iiit_ ," Ace whines, "Sabo! You just lost me eighty belli!"

Sabo sticks his tongue out in an almost childish manner, laughing. "Blame yourself for making the bet," he says manner-of-factly, slipping out of his sweat-drenched shirt as he stifles a yawn.

Zoro tries to feign nonchalance, pretending that he isn't trying to peak over his shoulder curiously at the bold brand on the blonde's back, but Ace and Luffy stare unabashedly. The former doesn't seem to notice how obvious he's being, while the latter doesn't seem to care.

Sabo starts to walk across the room to scrub his soiled shirt, but then realises with a jolt that he's being stared intently at. Raising an eyebrow and turning around, it takes the former Celestial Dragon a second to realise what's drawn all three's attention. When he does, his fair face reddens and he turns to face them quickly, hiding the brand from view.

"Ah, sorry, I'd forgotten about that!" Sabo stumbles over his words awkwardly.

"That's where…?" Ace sounds horrified.

A tense silence. Sabo dips his head. "Yeah. But it doesn't hurt so much anymore, anyway, so I'm-"

The young teen swallows.

"I'm fine."

Luffy shoots him an utterly dubious look, small forehead creasing, and opens his mouth to say something; Zoro puts a hand on the younger's shoulder shaking his head slightly. _If Sabo wants to talk, he'll talk_ , the young swordsman says without words.

That night, when Ace takes Sabo's watch for him on the roof of Amazon and Zoro offers him extra blanket (it's still so damn cold) and silent warmth of his back against his as they settle down, Sabo's a second from declining when he sees the look in their eyes. With a jolt, he realises that they _care_.

Maybe they saw through his lie earlier. Saw that he's not quite as fine as he'd like to be. Either way, all three of the brothers seem to sense that something's wrong, and Sabo falls asleep to the first night in a long time that's dreamless. He sleeps for a long time and they let him sleep in the next morning, and all he can hope is that his smile is enough to convince them of how grateful he really is.

He thinks that it is.

* * *

On Sabo's fifteenth, two years before he's due to fulfil his promise and cast out to the open ocean, the brothers decide that an excursion is in order. They're all free spirits, Sabo by nature and Ace, Luffy and Zoro by nurture. Staying at the Amazon for so long is safe, but for what it has in security it lacks in adventure, so they decide to hitch a ride on a fishing boat a little further back across the Grand Line before coming back.

Simple, right?

Apparently not when you have two idiot little brothers who decide that they're antsy and they're hungry respectively ( _three guesses on which one's which_ , Sabo jokes to Ace later). Stowaways on Grand Line fishing boats aren't typically meant to casually wander into the galley in search of a fight and some food, but that's what they do, and Ace looks like he's about to scream.

As they dive into the ocean, Zoro taking Ace and Sabo taking Luffy, the blond chortles at how red Ace was when they ran through the ship, face looking warmer than his fire on a bad day. Zoro snickers along, heaving Ace onto his shoulder to keep his dark head above the water, even though he knows that he and Luffy are due for a lecture from the two oldest in the very near future.

They paddle for a few minutes, an island slowly starting to grow on the horizon, before they see the monster of a ship.

Sabo scans it, even as Zoro curses loudly. Marine - some model of warship, or at least something close. The figurehead's a dog with a bone in its mouth. The boy can see something printed on the sails, but it's too far away to read. Dog figurehead. Something vague comes to Sabo's mind. Is that-

"Crap," Zoro growls, seawater flooding into his mouth, "That's Garp!"

"Wait, Luffy and Ace's-"

"Yep!"

Sabo and Zoro exchange looks, then look back at the approaching monster of a ship, then look back at each other.

"Swim or scream?"

"Both?" Zoro tries.

"I think that's our best option right now."

* * *

So, maybe their first excursion didn't go so well, but hey – Luffy and Ace knew that their Grandfather was alive, and while only one was outwardly happy, it was obvious that both were relieved that he was still up and kicking. Or, well, punching. And, really, they were more terrified than relieved, but were relieved nonetheless.

* * *

Sabo and Ace leave together (mostly because they can only risk nicking one boat), and their departure is a quiet one – and a tearful one, too, because now Ace's shirt is covered in tears and snot and other unspeakable things and Luffy's on the floor with a bump like an egg on his head.

"Baby! Men don't cry!" Ace yells at him. He's still hiding a smile, though, not that he'd ever admit it.

Sabo can sense this turning into a squabble already, and he and his other younger brother exchange slightly exasperated looks.

"Ace is just a meanie! I'm crying cause I'll miss you, you asshole!"

"Who're you calling an asshole?!"

"You, asshole!"

"Why, you-"

"Oi, oi, cut it out you two," Sabo groans. _It's good to know that some things never change_. After being latched onto by Luffy and given the same treatment (this time fully returned, bar the sobbing), Sabo jumped down to join Ace on their tiny dinghy. Casting off, waving furiously to the tiny dots of Luffy and Zoro on the shoreline until they're out of sight, Sabo considers how far they've come with a grin.

Zoro's matured. He's far calmer after three years, more sedate, and he laughs more – but he's all but terrifying when he fights now, even if he's just sixteen. The rough and soiled clothes of grey terminal that hung off him are gone – he wears a white, long-sleeved shirt and pants that go down to his ankles.

Luffy's changed, too. Unlike Zoro – who's bulked up in muscle and shot up in height – he's only gotten a little taller, and he's built like a twig, having lost the baby fat in his cheeks. He wears mostly Ace's old t-shirts (the seventeen-year old seems to have permanently rejected wearing anything but an open, yellow overshirt) and shorts, and he's actually not half bad at aiming his damn punches now. Sabo's two younger brothers have matured mentally, too, now. They talk more like equals than the scolding older brother and the cheeky little brother, sometimes.

Sabo turns to his single older brother, a thrum of excitement pulsing through him as they exchange grins. He'll miss this – but he might as well enjoy the little time he has with Ace left, before they set off on their own journeys.

* * *

It takes nearly four months to get Ace to finally give in and join the crew, and by that time, Thatch is utterly convinced that the son of the pirate king, even if he can be a little shit who tries to kill Oyaji sometimes, is not half as bad the World Government have painted him as for the last seven years. For one, he's far younger than anything Thatch had expected. In his wanted poster, he looks well over twenty, but in person he looks more like he's in his mid to late teens.

Most of the crew know by now that half of the crap Ace allegedly did while on the run from the government is just that – _crap_. Apparently, bloodlines matter more than the truth to the government (not that Thatch hasn't known this for a long time), and they matter a hell of a lot more than the innocence of a child, too. Thatch remembers when Ace told them casually how he was eleven when he got his first bounty, and how few months later, he hit the Grand Line.

Marco was positively fuming, but said nothing and kept his face blank. Thatch knows him better than most, though, so he can see the tightening of his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes. The first mate's never been one to stand for injustice, and this is no exception.

As Ace grows closer to the crew, his frosty and mistrustful shell melting tediously slowly, he mentions his brothers offhandedly once in a while. It's common knowledge that the infamous four aren't actually blood related (if there were four sons of Roger, Thatch doesn't doubt that the government would just about implode), but the Whitebeard Pirates know better than anybody that family doesn't depend on blood.

Still, the commander of the fourth division can't help but wonder. Sabo, the one of the four without some infamous father, hasn't been heard from much in months. Dragon's son (Lucky? Something like that) and Mihawk's kid (green hair is all Thatch remembers of him) have steadily rising bounties and occasionally make the news, but since word got out to the government that Ace is one of the Whitebeard Pirates now, they've been focussing mostly on him.

One day, curiosity gets the better of the redhead. He and Ace are on watch, passing a bottle of something golden and warming between them before the chilly morning sky, and Thatch asks, "Whatever did happen to your brothers, anyway? What did the marines start calling 'em? 'Rogue, IV'?"

To Thatch's mild surprise, Ace laughs, leaning back and slipping his hands behind his head. Nostalgia fills his eyes. "Lu' and Zoro are still back at the Amazon. And Sabo left at the same time as me - when we turned seventeen - to go find the Revs and, y'know, change the world." His young face softens. "Sabo's always wanted to change the world."

"'Amazon'?" Thatch takes a swig, settles back beside his friend for a good story. Honestly, he's surprised that Ace is giving away anything at all, but he's not complaining.

"Me, Luffy and Zoro grew up on an island in the East Blue called Dawn until near my eleventh birthday, when Akainu found us, and-" Ace makes a vague gesture. "We left. Spent a couple of months in East Blue, kind of lost, I guess. We got to the Grand Line before Luffy turned eight a few months later, and we were on the run for a few years until we happened to reach Sabaody when I was, what, thirteen? Fourteen?"

"What about Sabo?" Thatch is engrossed, even as he keeps half an eye on the horizon.

"That's when we met him. He was a runaway, thirteen years old with a slave brand, and Luffy asked him to be our brother only a few days after we met him." Ace chuckles, though it sounds sort of sad. "Me and Zoro damn near ripped his head off, but Sabo fitted in really well. Soon, we settled down in this abandoned shop in the lawless zone, hid away for a long time, trained and trained. We were just scared kids, but it made us feel stronger.

"As for the 'Amazon' thing – the shop used to be called 'Williamsons', and my little brother can barely read, so he got that from 'Amsons'. It, uh, stuck."

Ace abruptly seems to realise how much he's talked, and he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry. It's just been a long time since I've seen the kid – seen any of them – and I miss them. Spending seven years with somebody makes it harder than I thought it would be to leave."

"When are you planning to see them again?" Thatch crosses his legs, thinking. "I mean, Oyaji isn't exactly on bad terms with the Revolutionaries, maybe you and Sabo could-"

"I would, but we have an agreement." Ace abruptly grins, laughing. "All four of us are going to meet up at the beginning of the Grand Line when Luffy and Zoro set off to form a crew. Until then? I can wait."

He says it in such a manner that he might be planning to wait for his wayward brothers in this crow's nest for years, and Thatch digests the new information. He struggles to hold in a grin at his new brother's expression when he catches sight of it. Ace really does have that 'D' grin, and it's infectious.

"Until then, you got us," Thatch corrects.

The next day, Ace gets his tattoo even bigger than Marco's on his back, and beams across at the chef even as the needle pierces his skin. He looks like he could keep that smile for years. Thatch prays inwardly that his new brother can.

* * *

Sabo meets Koala the day after he finally – _finally_ – finds the Revolutionary Army. She seems nice enough at first glance. Formal to the point of mild intimidation. Mistrustful, obviously so. When she and Sabo are sent on their first mission together, her previous partner having recently moved rank, the redhead looks like she's close to complaining but refrains from doing so. Sabo had always thought of the Revolutionary Army as a pretty over-the-top name, but as soon as he sees Koala, he knows; she's a soldier. She follows orders.

A few days later, when the mission goes utterly wrong (he should have expected this, this is the extent of his luck) and he and Koala end up blowing up a marine base and nearly blowing themselves up too, he learns that she's not just a soldier. She's also a pretty damn good friend, and somebody that he wouldn't mind taking a few more missions with. She makes sure that he's relatively unharmed before even thinking to check if she has all of her own limbs, and takes the fall for him without hesitation when it comes to owning up to the flaw in the mission.

Months pass, and after three or four, Sabo's happy to note that he and Koala are still partners. When they skip up the ranks, soon becoming the two youngest of the higher-ups, they do so together. Ever couple of weeks, Sabo makes sure to send a letter over to Luffy and Zoro (it's not like either can read all that well, but it's the thought that counts), and he always checks in on Ace every now and again. Good brother requirements? Check.

Self-care? Veto. The amount of lectures that Sabo gets from Koala every time he does something noble ( _self-sacrificing, idiotic and suicidal_ , Koala calls it) is astronomical. There are occasional instances in which Sabo forgets to eat, too, but luckily his partner doesn't seem to notice that yet. He hopes.

Fulfilment of all three of his goals? Veto. Sabo's found and joined the Revolutionaries, sure, but he has yet to thank the red-haired Yonko and he hasn't yet managed to raid his old home to help the slaves of Jalmack and the other World Nobles. But he'll get there, eventually, once he's further up the ranks.

One out of three isn't too bad, though, especially considering that the one he has done is by far the most important, so Sabo is content for now.

Broken out of his thoughts by a light hand on his shoulder, Sabo looks up. It's the day of one of his sporadic meetings with Dragon, and he and Koala are due to arrive in Baltigo in a few hours. Beneath him, the boat lulls comfortingly and rhythmically on the waves, and the cold wind freshens his face and ruffles his hair from his place against the railing, near the stern.

The offending hand on his shoulder is Koala's, and when she pulls back, it's to shuffle through some papers in her arms. "Some more news on your brother," she says. This is commonplace by now; the Revolution has some of the best sources in the world, and Sabo plans to make use of them as much as he can.

"Thanks, Koala," Sabo grins. Taking the offered papers, he scans them and chuckles. Apparently the Whitebeard Pirates made contact with Red-Haired Shanks a few days ago, and for some reason, the tailing marines came across the burnt-out carcasses of three sea kings. Sabo's not sure he even wants to know.

Either way, Ace most likely managed to spare a moment to do what he and Sabo had vowed to do - thank Akagami. _Always just ahead of me, huh, Ace?_

But, he'll get there eventually. For now, he has a rebellion to take care of.

* * *

It's been nearly a year since Ace and Sabo cast off, and Luffy and Zoro are getting bored. Zoro's due to leave soon – his seventeenth birthday is approaching fast – but honestly, he's not too keen on leaving Luffy here on his own. If they were back at Dawn, there would be no problem, but here? Luffy's a fifteen-year old with seventy million on his head, on one of the most marine-heavy islands in Paradise. And he's a complete and utter idiot, too, with no survival instinct of any kind, so he's as good as dead.

When Zoro consults his younger brother about it, the tiny moron doesn't seem to notice the insults - that, or he just doesn't give two shakes of a gull's wing. He gives his distinctive laugh and slaps the swordsman on the back, in a way that suggests that Zoro's being an idiot (who knows? Maybe he is, according to Luffy Logic).

"I'm strong!"

"Like hell you are!" Okay, Zoro might grudgingly admit that Luffy can easily take out a few idiot marines, but he'd die in a day if he stuck around here.

"I am! Fight me!"

"We've already had our one-hundred fights for the day."

"But before Sabo and Ace left, we used to have one-hundred and fifty!"

"But I'm older."

"That's not an excuse!"

"That's _always_ an excuse."

After glaring hard at his companion for a minute, Luffy whines and flops to the floor. "Stupid Zoro. Why don't we just go back to Dawn?"

"As if we c-"

Zoro pauses. What was the reason that they couldn't go back there again? Nothing comes to mind. And, on second thought, leaving Luffy at Dawn would give him time to get stronger (god, the _things_ living in that damn forest don't bear thinking about) and Zoro could stick around the East Blue for a while, hunt a few bounties, maybe even pick a fight with _that man_ if they ever meet.

Did Luffy just come up with a good idea?!

"Luffy," he says in a dry voice, "You might actually be picking up the slack from Sabo as the smart one, y'know?"

Luffy laughs gleefully, tucking into his meat with a radiant grin.

* * *

Zoro turns seventeen on a crisp autumn morning a few months after they return to Dawn, when the rusty sunlight hits Dandan's hut and turns it into a bright, burnt-orange beacon in the trees. His sendoff is quiet – only Luffy comes, because nobody else here really knows Zoro all that well – and before he pitches his tiny raft out onto the open ocean, he and his brother make a promise.

"I'll stay in the East Blue for two years, until you turn seventeen," the young swordsman says. "Then, we meet up again, and I'll see just how strong you've gotten. Who knows? Ace and Sabo would kill me if I let you get beheaded within the first damn week, so maybe I'll join your crew." His steel-coloured eyes narrow, and he meets Luffy's gaze calmly. "But I won't follow a weak captain, you know."

Luffy doesn't have a care in the world – not that he ever has, or ever will. "I'll be strong, Zoro. You'll see!"

The way he says it doesn't sound boastful. No. Luffy says it in a way that makes it seem like a fact.

And Zoro has faith.

* * *

_Two years later_.

"Thanks, Zoro!"

The Marine Captain Morgan crashes to the ground, sends up a plume of dust, and Luffy's grinning a familiar grin that's shadowed by his hat. Apparently, his crybaby brother really did get stronger. He doesn't act much like a crybaby anymore. No - he acts like a damn pirate captain.

"No problem, S _encho_."

Grand Line and older brothers?

Here they come.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment before you go!


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